Regular reminder:
Italics are thoughts and memories.
Bold is Malekos speaking, or an emphasis in a thought.
Once again I do not claim Yu-Gi-Oh as my own. I only own Jessica and Malekos.
Solomon had excused himself for a break so Jessica was left to mind the store until he got back. She stood behind the counter with her elbow propped on the corner and her chin resting in her hand. There hadn't been a customer for an hour now so she was bored. She had already done all the sweeping and cleaning she could do so she was left hoping a customer would walk in soon. With her free hand, she fiddled with her foil pack absentmindedly.
The bell jingled as the door swung open and she straightened to give the person a smile. "Welcome!" She shoved the foil pack into her pocket once more.
Yugi greeted her with a bright smile, a group of three other students behind him as they regarded her with curious stares. "I'm back," Yugi exclaimed, jogging over to where she stood behind the counter. "Jessica, I want you to meet my friends! Joey, Tristan, and Téa."
"Oh. Hello," Jessica gave them each a wave. "It's nice to finally meet you all." She gave her best friendly smile, but she could already feel her nerves skyrocket. She wasn't used to meeting so many people at once. She could handle it if they were customers, but it seemed like they were going to be staying for a while.
"I didn't know your grandpa hired somebody, Yugi!" Téa, the blue-eyed brunette, was shocked as she looked at Jessica curiously.
"And someone so lovely too!" Jessica ignored the suggestive looks Tristan and Joey were giving her.
"Actually, I'm only helping out as payment for staying here," she explained with a nonchalant shrug.
"You live here?!" The three exclaimed rather loudly, making her and Yugi wince.
Solomon came downstairs at that moment and she mentally thanked him for his presence. "She didn't have anywhere to stay so we agreed that she would share chores with Yugi and help out around the store as her living expenses," he explained. Yugi and Jessica gave confirming nods.
She felt like she was receiving some suspicious glares all of a sudden, but when she looked at Téa, the brunette quickly found interest in whatever conversation the boys had started up with Solomon. Uh oh.. What did I do? She mentally sighed and was relieved when the older man told her that she was done for the day.
Excusing herself, she retreated up the stairs before anyone could stop her and shut herself into her room. She didn't feel comfortable being around so many people yet for longer than she needed to. She was still worried bad things would happen. Although the glares she had gotten from that other girl was worrisome. She let out a sigh and plopped down on her bed. She fished out the foil pack from her pocket and gazed at it.
Would Yugi really show her how to play? She knew only having five cards wasn't going to do much. From what she understood, she'd need a lot more than that to be able to play. She wasn't sure if she was ready to learn a complicated game. Part of the reason she had stayed away from games was due to the fact that Malekos would act out the most when she was experiencing negative emotions like frustration, fear, and anger. If she lost her patience with the game, he could try to surface and ruin more than just the mood.
She let out a sigh and listened as Yugi and his friends made their way upstairs and into the living room. The boys were being especially loud and she rubbed her temple. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be friends with a rowdy group either. She closed her eyes and just listened, not able to doze off due to how loud they were. Not that she would've taken a nap anyway. It was too early to sleep.
It felt like an hour had gone by before she heard a soft rapping on her door. Pushing herself to her feet, she walked over to the door and opened it.
Yugi stood on the other side, absentmindedly fiddling with his thumbs as he glanced up at her through his blonde bangs. He was giving her that look and she tried her best not to frown immediately. That puppy-dog face was something she found difficult to resist. "Hey, Jess.. I was wondering if you wanted to come play a game with us? You can just watch if you don't want to though." His eyes found its way to her hand and he blinked in surprise when he saw the foil pack still clutched in her hand. "Is that a Duel Monsters pack?"
"Oh…" She lifted that hand to stare at the foil pack, having forgotten it was in her hand. "Your grandpa said I could have it. I've never played it though."
Yugi's face lit up with excitement. "We were just about to play that! Come on, we'll show you!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of her room before she could protest.
She stumbled behind him as he led her to the living room where his friends sat on the couch and some chairs. She frowned when Téa immediately looked at Yugi's hand holding hers and glared at it. Oh yeah. This is gonna be fun, she mentally sighed. Yugi sat in the only available chair and she excused herself to grab a cup of water. Sipping at her water, she walked over and sat on the floor beside Yugi's chair where no one else was. She wanted to be as far away from them as possible.
On the table was a Duel Monsters mat, and Joey was facing off as Yugi's opponent. They explained the rules of the game to her and even explained some of the cards as they played them. From what she was hearing, Yugi was the undefeated champion among the group. Joey had even told her about a tournament a while ago they had won where Yugi gained the title, King of Games. She sipped at her water and gave a side glance towards Yugi. She could see the spirit floating between them, watching the game with quiet fondness. No one else besides Yugi seemed to be able to see him, or they were just simply too immersed in the game and teasing Joey every chance they got. A tiny smile formed on her lips that she hid with her cup.
After about five games, they decided to call it quits in favor of a break and to discuss strategies about their deck. She was only half listening now as she closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing quietly to keep from growing nervous. She was starting to feel tired from being in the company of too many people, and she told herself that it was just something that she would have to grow used to in order to overcome it.
"Jess," Yugi said softly while his friends talked about homework. She hummed in response, waiting for him to continue as she heard him lean over the side of his chair toward her. "If you're tired you don't have to stay. I'm sorry for keeping you up like this."
She shook her head and glanced at him. "It's okay. I know you just wanted to help me start to relax around other people." She offered him a smile and he returned it with a smile of his own and a nod. "I think I will sneak away for now. But later…" She bit her lip as she hesitated. "Will you teach me more about the game?"
His face lit up and he grinned, "Sure!"
A light blush dusted her cheeks as her heart fluttered. She smiled and pushed herself to her feet. "Thank you for teaching me about Duel Monsters. It was nice meeting you all, but I think I'll turn in for the evening," she announced. She earned some goodbyes and she headed for the kitchen to refill her cup before heading to her room.
Glad to be able to finally relax, she set the cup on her desk and then plopped face-down onto her bed. She turned her head to the side so she didn't suffocate herself with her pillow and closed her eyes. She let out a sigh of relief and let the silence of her room relax her nerves and tense muscles. Her brows furrowed as she thought back to how Téa had been glaring at her for most of the night. What's her problem anyway?
Jealousy. The voice replied with a chuckle in his voice.
She frowned at the intrusion of her thoughts. You just love to invade my thoughts, don't you?
What else am I supposed to do? I'm stuck with nothing to do.
And somehow that gave you the idea to make a mockery of my life. I appreciate your generosity. Her sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. But why would she be jealous anyway?
Perhaps she has… What do you humans call it? A crush? Yes, a crush. On that child you've grown fond of. He sneered as if the thought of it was disgusting to him.
What do you mean? She was starting to get a headache from his constant presence in her mind. She rubbed her temple absentmindedly to soothe the pressure that was building.
You know exactly what I mean. You're growing a crush on him yourself.
Her eyes opened wide and her face flushed red quicker than she would have liked. A crush on Yugi? There was no way. She hadn't even known him that long!
Deny it all you want. I know exactly what it looks like and so do you.
She felt his presence retreat from the forefront of her mind before she could protest. She heard the soft rapping of Yugi at her door, announcing his presence. She squeaked in response and snatched her cup, gulping some water down before coughing as some tried to go down her throat the wrong way. She headed for the door as she managed to calm down and swung it open, revealing a concerned Yugi.
"You okay? I heard you coughing."
"Oh, yeah… Water went down the wrong pipe," she explained, clearing her throat to ease the uncomfortable feeling that came with it. "They left?" She noted how quiet it was in the house as she peaked around the corner.
"Yeah, they left a couple minutes ago." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Have you eaten yet?"
She blinked in surprise. That question made her nerves calm down as she realized just how hungry she was. "Actually, no. I don't remember when I last ate.." She gave a nonchalant shrug.
He gave another concerned look. "Let's go get something to eat. You need to keep your strength up." He turned and headed down the hallway, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was following.
"Yeah, yeah." She followed behind him and they headed out of the house.
It was late so going to a fast food restaurant was out of the question. They went to the nearby convenience store to buy some already made food and some snacks. Yugi paid for it of course. She had no money of her own. They headed back with their haul and went straight to Yugi's room.
They sat cross-legged on the bed together as they ate and talked about anything and everything. When they had finished eating, they moved onto Duel Monsters. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle appeared in spectral form to be part of the conversation and give his own incite when needed. She opened her foil pack with them and they commented on the cards she got, about how good they were and what they did. They talked well into the night before calling it quits and Jessica headed back to her own room.
"G'night, Yugi," she said as she paused at his doorway.
"Good night, Jess." Yugi smiled tiredly at her, to which she returned with her own. She closed the door behind herself.
A bit of a slow chapter, but Jessica needed to be introduced to the whole gang sooner or later. Please leave a review, I love reading them~